Sexually Transmitted Diseases/rough rash on penis shaft

My wife noticed yesterday that I have a dark, rough line about 1/4 in thick, running from my circumcision scar down the length of my penis. It didn't itch at the time, but last night I noticed an itch. There aren't any blisters or sores apparent. I haven't had any sexual contact with anyone but my wife since December and had a negative std screening that month also. I've never had these symptoms before, but on occasion have had individual bumps that itch in the groin area. Any ideas?

AnswerHello Jay,
Your penis looks fine. The darkly pigmented areas are normal variations in the skin. Individual bumps that itch in the groin may be hair bumps or mild folliculitis. No evidence of STDs in the photos, nor in your description.

Expertise

Almost any question or concern about gay men's health issues, sexually transmitted infections, abnormal Pap smears, anal cytology (anal "Pap smears"), etc.
There is no such thing as “d/d free” or “clean” (free of infection), so why do so many of us deceive ourselves into thinking that some people are indeed totally free from a potentially infectious disease, like HIV, herpes, hepatitis, syphilis, chlamydia, warts, gonorrhea, etc., just because they say so? Clinical laboratory tests are not perfect, and having a “negative” or “nonreactive” test does not mean that a person is free from infection. Perhaps at the moment the test was taken, the person was uninfected; or, perhaps, the test wasn’t sensitive enough to detect presence of the infection. There is really no way that anyone can determine that they are truly “disease free,” and there are over a hundred of infectious conditions that can be spread without your knowing anything.
Rather than trying to “pre-screen” or “serosort” a potential sex-mate with deceptive questions that are impossible to know by today’s technologies, a wiser option may be to consider everyone infected with something, and either use appropriate protective measures (“safer sex”), or accept the responsibility and consequences of possibly “catching” something from someone who’s hotter than expected (pun intended!).
There is much research that supports the contention that an HIV positive person reliably taking HIV medications, and having an undetectable viral load, presents a lower risk for transmission of HIV than people who may think or say they are HIV negative, but are not. Food for thought!

OrganizationsCo-Founder, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Gay Physician Assistant Caucus of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Inc.;
American Academy of Physician Assistants;
Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants;
National Co-Chair (2012-16), National Association of Black and White Men Together: A Gay, Multiracial Organization for All People (NABWMT)

PublicationsJournal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAPA)
Q Visions, Quarterly Newsletter of the NABWMT